Epstein had applied for a $1.6 million U.S. Small Business Administration-guaranteed loan to refinance the eatery, and his application was one of hundreds whose processing was held up when the government closed down for 16 days. Because he didn't get his SBA approval sooner, he couldn't finish up his refinancing.

"The delay in the closing cost me another month's fees," Epstein said.

After the 16-day government closure this month, the SBA is facing a backlog of loan applications that piled up nationally and in North Jersey, where eight have been granted since the shutdown ended, according to the agency. Epstein's was among those just approved in Bergen and Passaic counties.

During the shutdown there were 700 applications, totaling $140 million, filed for SBA 7(a) loan guarantees nationwide. Since government operations resumed Oct. 17, the SBA has been scrambling to process those applications, which provide capital for entrepreneurs to start companies or expand their businesses.

As of Wednesday, the New Jersey SBA office didn't know how many of those 700 applications are pending for companies in Bergen and Passaic counties, said Al Titone, SBA district director for the Garden State.

Titone, who is based in Newark, said that until those applications are processed, his office has no way of knowing how many were submitted by North Jersey entrepreneurs. The SBA's loan-processing center is in Sacramento, Calif.

"There's obviously a backlog," Titone said. "How many of ours are in the backlog, I don't know. They've got everybody working on them."

During the four-day period since the federal shutdown ended through Tuesday, the SBA processed and approved eight loan applications for North Jersey, seven in Bergen for $3.4 million and one in Passaic for $1.1 million, Titone said. Those "are part of the 700," he said.

Epstein, who also owns an IHOP in Spring Valley, N.Y., said he bought the 32-year-old Hasbrouck Heights IHOP in March. He sought his SBA loan to refinance with a new lender on better terms. As a result, he expects to save $100,000 annually, which will permit him to do about $200,000 in improvements to the Hasbrouck Heights pancake emporium over the next year.

Epstein plans to update the kitchen to meet the demands of the restaurant, which originally had 130 seats but was expanded to serve 200.

That refurbishment includes converting the kitchen from electric to gas, a move Epstein estimated will cut the IHOP's $87,000 annual utility bill by 40 percent. The air conditioning and heating system will be revamped to be energy efficient, and some of the seating will be updated, he added.

Le & Rao is building a high-end Chinese restaurant, Joyce Chinese Cuisine, in a strip mall on Kinderkamack Road, River Edge. The company already owns a Chinese take-out restaurant in Fort Lee called Joyce Chinese, said owner Leo Le. Its SBA loan will go toward that new restaurant, which is expected to open by Christmas, Le said.

Loan recipient 2nd Foundation Software declined to comment, and the remainder of the companies couldn't be reached for comment.

The SBA operates on a fiscal year, which for 2013 ran from Oct. 1, 2012, through Sept. 30. During that fiscal year there were 16 SBA loans, totaling $12 million, granted on average a month in Bergen, Titone said. Because seven Bergen SBA loans have been granted since the shutdown, compared with the 2013 monthly average, there are perhaps another nine pending, according to the SBA.

In fiscal 2013, Passaic County businesses received four SBA loans for $1.8 million on average a month, he said. Since the shutdown, the SBA has processed one for Passaic.

Under its 7(a) program, the SBA does not make loans itself, but instead guarantees loans made by participating lending institutions. Under the program, taxpayer funds are only used in the event of borrower default, reducing the risk to the lender but not to the borrower, who remains obligated for the full debt, even in the event of default.